Only He Knows
by SoularFlare
Summary: Elliot Stabler loves Olivia Benson, but how much, only our loveably psychologist Dr. George Huang knows. Will he spill Elliot's beans, or keep that pesky DoctorPatient confidentiality we all can't stand? PostFault REVISED ENDING


Detective Olivia Benson lay in the crib down at the precinct, staring out the window across the room. She hadn't felt much like going home, especially not after the day's events at the bus terminal. Images of that poor boy's face floated in front of her, followed by pictured of the frightened girl locked in a wooden crate, and then the crumbling look on Elliot's face as he stood to leaver her there at the hospital…she swallowed the lump in her throat as his words echoed in her mind.  
_You and this job are all I have left; I don't want to wreck that._ The rough blankets brushed against her as she shifted on the uncomfortable spring mattress, turning away from the night sky and facing the cold concrete wall before falling into a light and uncomfortable sleep.

George Huang strode purposefully down the hallway past the interrogation rooms and into the main office area of the 1-6. It had always been his job to talk to the detectives after their cases, especially ones that had ended up like yesterday's fiasco at the bus station. Most detectives didn't talk about the cases that bothered them, and that could be disastrous to the team if they just let it build up. He had already been ambushed unwittingly by Elliot, and with what he had discovered, or _believed_ that he had discovered, he would _have_ to talk to Olivia next.

He had planned on waiting for her at her desk until she arrived, but he was surprised to see her already there, sitting with her back stiff and shadows under her eyes. The entire atmosphere of the room was gloomy, and the four detectives in question were relatively silent, even Munch and Fin, who could usually be caught betting on one thing or another and laughing as they each upped the ante with something completely irrelevant and ridiculous. His eyes swept the room and once again landed on Olivia, who was staring at the files on her desk, her eyes glazed. A pen hung limp from her fingers and she held he head at an odd angle, her shoulders hunched in a way that under normal circumstances could not be very comfortable.  
"Everything alright, Olivia," he asked as he appeared at her side.  
"Morning George," she answered, stifling a yawn and pushing her unwashed hair behind her ear. "Yeah I'm fine, just tired."  
"Did you not sleep well last night?" he asked. Friend and shrink merged into one as his eyes narrowed in concern.  
"On a crib mattress?" she chuckled and attempted to crack her neck, only to induce a sharp pain at the base of her head. "I wish."  
"You didn't go home last night?" and he noticed for the first time that she was still in her clothes from the day before. Settling himself in the chair across from her, he caught Elliot glancing up from his desk. He said nothing, but his eyes flashed, focusing on the injury on her throat.  
Olivia shook her head. "I didn't feel like going home I guess."  
Elliot stared hard at her from the corner of his eye as George nodded slowly.  
"Well," Huang said. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"  
Isn't there, Olivia thought to herself, images of the previous night running through her head again. She had every intention of denying the psychologist of his desired chat, but for some reason she found herself standing and grabbing her coat, leading the doctor out the door. Elliot's eyes followed them out, catching Huang's concerned gaze as the disappeared.

"So Olivia, what's up?" George asked as they walked down the street away from the precinct and towards the park.  
She stopped and turned to face him, her face so full of emotion and confusion. "That's just it – I don't know where to start. Yesterday I – everything just _blurs_. I see it all the time; getting slashed, the boy on the ground, the girl in the box and –"  
"Elliot?"  
She turned her eyes away, nodding imperceptibly.  
"Did you have a conversation with him after what happened?"  
Again she nodded. "At the hospital," she murmured softly.  
Huang studied her intently, his dark eyes glittering. "Did he say anything in particular?"  
"He asked me if I would have taken that shot…that if that Fed hadn't shown up…"  
"I take it you said no?"  
She snapped her head up. "Of _course_ I said no! To think that I would, that I _could_…" she trailed off, blinking hard to hold back the tears that threatened to fall.  
George nodded. "And how did Elliot react to that?"  
"He said…that this job and I are all he had left…and then he walked away."  
"And what did you do after that?"  
One tear escaped and left a wet trail down the side of her face. "I went to the Captain and asked for a new partner."

This was not the answer George had expected. These two had been partners and best friends for eight years, had seen more than any person should, and persevered; the thought of them _not_ being together in any way, shape, or form blew his mind. He made a decision at once and gently led her by the arm to one of the green benches lining the pat they'd been walking on.  
"Listen to me Olivia," he said gently, sitting down next to her. "Do you think what you did was right?"  
Two more tears fell. "I – I don't know…To hear him say something like that should have made me so _happy_, but it _didn't_. The look in his eyes, George, like he was blaming me…I don't know what's right anymore."  
She suddenly looked so small and lost in the large jacket she wore as she fiddled with the edges of her fur-cuffed sleeves miserably. George looked up to the trees, his eyes watching the birds that hopped from branch to branch, twittering and calling to one another. "Elliot came to see me yesterday, after the incident at the bus station," he said after a few moments of silence.  
Olivia looked to him, her eyes bordering on expectancy, but holding back in fear of something she didn't want to hear.  
"He asked me…why he _cared_ so much." Huang looked back to her astonished face. "Olivia, don't you know that he's in love with you? Can't you see it wasn't _you_ he was blaming? He's afraid, Olivia, terrified that he might lose you. This job, that's replaceable. You, on the other hand, are not."  
Olivia's breathing was shallow, her bottom lip quivering slightly. The tears were now rushing the gates with a battering ram, or so he guessed, as her blinking became more forced than ever in an attempt to hold them back. He laid a hand on her arm as she turned away from him, covering her trembling mouth with her sleeve-covered hand.  
She sniffed despairingly. "What and I going to do, George? I love him; he's the best friend I ever had, I had no idea that I would ever feel this way about him, and now I've gone and screwed everything up."  
He asked her how she'd done any such thing and she turned to his sharply, ignoring the harsh twinge in her neck, her eyes wet and wide with dejection.  
"I'd like to know that myself, Olivia."

The sitting pair turned and found Elliot standing there, sweating and panting slightly.  
"Elliot…" she moved to stand, but he had already crossed the short distance between them in two sure strides and knelt in front of her. His eyes were honest and open as he grasped her hands in his own. She stared at him, her mouth hanging open in surprise.  
"I ran all the way here, Olivia. I saw you leave, I know what I said didn't make any sense and probably hurt you, I didn't mean to I…" he fell off as a complete loss for words overcame him. He needn't say anything however, for his eyes said all he wanted to as they stared straight into Olivia's wide brown orbs.  
George noticed the tender gaze in which the male detective bestowed upon his partner and he smiled to himself. He stood and laid a hand on Elliot's shoulder before he strolled away, hands in his pockets, whistling cheerfully. He hadn't _exactly_ done his job, but he'd feel much more than accomplished if he helped those two to stay together.

Though George had vacated the seat behind Olivia, Elliot made no move to take it. He merely continued to kneel at Olivia's feet, holding her hands tightly.  
"Olivia, listen," he began, searching for words to say. "I know what I said…didn't come out like it should have. I never meant to hurt you, you have to know that I would never…" again, words failed him as he tried to explain to this woman how much he cared for her, how much he _needed_ her. His eyes searched hers hopefully, trying to convey what his voice couldn't. She looked down at him, the surprise slipping off her face as it was replaced with a warm glow that stilled his heart for a beat. "I understand," her eyes told him, "I love you." She leaned towards him and, just slightly, experimentally, brushed her lips against his. Everything melted away, the world was blank, and they lived there with only each other, dropping playful butterfly kisses and tickled and healed them at the same time. They sat that way, foreheads resting together and bliss overtook her, but the weight of an un-confessed guilt still lay on her mind. How was she to tell him that she had put in a transfer and that she had opted for the easy way out of her pain and anguish by running away?  
"Wouldn't _not_ telling him be running away, too?" her mind inquired, and she sighed, knowing that her inner voice was right. So she pulled away from his warmth and looked down at him seriously. "Elliot, listen. I have something to tell you…" he noted her eyes had lost some of the glow they'd had, and listened intently as she told him what she had done.

"…and Cragen said he'd put it through. But I don't want a transfer anymore, I never did, believe me Elliot, but I was afraid, I was upset, I had no idea…"  
But he quieted her rants with a finger placed gently on her lips. He smiled gently at her, his eyes showing no sign of anger, only patience and understanding.  
"I already know. When Huang took you out, Captain called me in, and he told me that you'd requested a transfer. It's OK, it's my fault fro nor explaining to you earlier…but Cragen doesn't want his best team broken up, so he's thinking about holding off. You might not go anywhere at all!"  
She suddenly gave a joyous shriek and tackled him to the ground, kissing him happily. They lay there for a time, watching as the old couples passed and smiled down at them wistfully, remembering the early stages of their own love. A dog streaked over them suddenly, and a young girl with a leash and empty dog collar rushed past, apologizing over her shoulder as she called for the rogue puppy to come back.  
Laughing, they stood and brushed the dirt from their backs and began meandering hand-in-hand back down the path. The sound of two robotic musical tones filled the air around them as their cell phones went off simultaneously; Olivia's phone showed a call from Munch while Elliot's announced a message from Fin. Elliot scanned the text quickly as Olivia talked to Munch, her replies short and brisk. She flipped the phone shut again after telling Munch they'd be back as quickly as possible as Elliot hit the _send_ button for the reply he sent Fin relaying the same message as Olivia. They looked into each other's eyes as Elliot grinned slightly.  
"You ready?" he asked.  
"All day, everyday," Olivia replied, and they sprinted off down the path towards the job that brought them together, the duty that always would, and the hope that someday, what they did day in and day out would make the world just a little bit better.


End file.
